Thursday, August 31, 2017

Leaving Wagga Wagga I busted my front axle. Luckily I was literally across the road from a bicycle shop! Thanks to Mark Westerman
in Wagga Cycles who despite a busy workload got me going again. After 26 kms I made it to a farm and thanks to Jock for letting me camp on his land. He wa beaming as Amy his wife had just given birth to a little girl. For Jock it was back to shearing sheep when I departed this morning, so sorry I have no photos of him  



😂

I was only a couple of kms up the road when I was stopped by an Irishman called Tim Carroll. He is from Waterford an amazingly a friend of my friend Sinead Kane ðŸ˜…🇮🇪 He works as an oil and gas sales rep and has worked all over the world, including Iraq! We had a nice chat and before I departed Tim told me about how he was working in Mosul when so-called Islamic State arrived there. I am looking forward to another chat when we get to Sydney as he says he wants to bring me out for a 'fattening up feed' lol ðŸ˜… thanks also to Tim for his generous help towards my world walk fund!
Arriving in a picturesque town called Junee I stopped at the Locomotive bar. The towns population of about 2,500 is set against the backdrop of historic railroad relics and the Southern Hemispheres only rounded operational railroad round room, so I'm told. Every town has to have a unique claim in Australia! It seems that Junee has two, for my friend Phil Essam tells me there is a haunted house here. I guess so, for I can't even open the link he sent me about it ðŸ˜…


I spotted a sign saying fish n chips and salad was on the menu😀 However, the kitchen was closed and the wonderful Sarah Landrigan not only cooked it for me; but she generously sponsored me my lunch and a bag of delicious bakery products for the road ðŸ˜€Thanks Sarah! Strangely she said it was this very mornin, the day of my arrival on foot that she chose to walk to work for the first time in living memory  

😅👣👣
 

So, I dedicate this day; Day 445 of my work walk to Sarah!
With luck and extra motivation I might get to Illabo tonight and Cootamundra tomorrow ðŸ‘£ðŸ‘£ðŸ˜€

Tuesday, August 29, 2017



I have just walked my 17,000th kilometre of my world walk ðŸ˜€ðŸ‘£ðŸ‘£ My global walk for cancer awareness message: Life is precious and early cancer screening saves lives 
This was the toughest thousand of my entire walk; a tribute to the great job that Michael Gillan did for me before he had to stop with hernia problems. Michael is still a bit sore and awaiting an appointment for an operation. Good luck and get better my dear friend ðŸ˜€
Current location: a kilometre east of Collinguille, New South Wales, Australia
It's a beautiful day and I am walking with a spring in my step as I don't have to push Karma, my cart today. I am about 18km from Darren and Jennifers house. They are my kind hosts ðŸ˜€ It's a bit early for lunch but hey, I am not going to walk past a great roadside picnic site like this one ðŸ˜€
So I am eating the delicious lasagna that Darren cooked last night. I am also listening to Neil Youngs "Heart of Gold" That reminds me of my mate, the Running Diva, Rosie Swale Pope
👣👣😅 She is currently running from London to Brighton as a fundraiser for war veterans. Why is she doing this? Well partly for a break from her current run around America! Although it seems more like around Texas as she has been more than a year in the Lone Star state. I think she got lost and got a new gps, lol ðŸ˜‚
Why is she taking a break from her American run? Sorry I meant Texas run! Because she fell and broke her wrist and is resting up, seriously ðŸ˜… Seriously she is pushing a cart with a broken wrist for people who are more injured than her as she says. Yes, heart of gold. Rosie also sleeps in the cart she pushes. Please consider sponsoring her injured veterans charity on her page ðŸ˜€ 
Update: I have just arrived on the outskirts of Wagga Wagga a city of about 60,000 inhabitants. 
Website: www.myworldwalk.com
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Thanks to Darren Connor and his wife Jennifer for wonderful hospitality and spoiling me in Wagga Wagga ðŸ˜€ 
He is originally from Finglas in Dublin and she is from here. They met when Jennifer was a bartender in The Old Dub pub in Dublin. 
Today Darren commuted me from my finish location to their home In the morning Jennifer will drop me back to today's finishing spot and I will walk another 30 kms to their home and stay another night. I need seven kilometres for 17,000 ðŸ˜€
Thank you my friends, I am enjoying a laugh ðŸ˜…
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Sunday, August 27, 2017

Tony Mangan added 3 new photos — feeling excited.
2 hrs · 
Thanks to my great friend Phil Essam for coming out to see me today. I was delighted to meet him for the very first time. We have been great mates and have exchange thousands of emails and messages in the twelve years we have known each other. Twelve years ago when Denmark's Jesper Kenn Olsen was nearing the end of his world run I offered to crew him across Ireland. At that time Phil was helping Jesper with some logistics and he subsequently became a close friend. This internet is so strange, as I never met Phil before, but I feel he is a real close mate for he also became an advisor of sorts and an ear when I needed it during much of my competitive career. For which I am so grateful!!! Thanks Phil! As I mentioned in my last post he is also the president of the World RunnersAssociation WRA and he took the opportunity to scrutinise my log book ( for authentication of my world walk reasons) Mates or not we all passionately strive for transparency and integrity. Anyone who attempts a world journey will obviously have the support and enthusiastic comradeship of the WRA, but only those that follow the rules in an honest manner.
Thanks Phil and thanks to our Canberra friend Stephen Dau for sending his support and to his wife for the delicious Vietnamese rice lunch she sent with Phil ðŸ˜€ðŸ˜‡
I still manage 30 kms and finished in a hamlet called Galore; James Bond fans don't laugh ðŸ˜… lol
I stopped at a house to ask permission to camp. A nice man called Ken brought me inside for a few drinks and we had lol ðŸ˜€
On the road today I met a nice lady called Pat. She gave me the phone number of her Irish son-in-law, originally from Dublin. His name is Darren and now he lives in Wagga Wagga, 58 kms away. So we exchanged a few texts. He was so friendly and invited me to stay in his place when I arrive on Tuesday night. Well, with world walker cheek I suggested that he could commute me tomorrow night also. And he was up for it! Thanks Darren ðŸ˜€ðŸ‡®ðŸ‡ªðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡º So I don't have to push Karma my cart on Tuesday when I walk to his house from my commute point.
Tonight I had a great chat with Ken who told me that two Swedish skateboarders camped at the very same spot I am at tonight outside his house. Strangely they also stopped to ask him. Those lads were going from Perth to Sydney and pulling their gear in a cart as they skated! Next day the lads met a European cyclist and told them to stop at Kens place, and he didn't!
The hamlet of Galore has seven residents. A church was recently sold for just $30,000! Why so cheaply, because who wants to live in a church I was told. I was thinking it would have made a great backpackers hostel, so too did Ken but he was unaware of the sale ðŸ˜‚
Hoping to get some photos soon! Phil can you please post them?!😀
I am going to walk on to Yass and take a short break from the walk to spend time with special friends. Them I will walk onto Sydney ðŸ˜€ðŸ‘£ðŸ‘£

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